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Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

April 12, 2011
Lena Holloway has been taught her whole life that love is a disease. You don’t say “I love you,” and you don’t marry for love. The government cures you of the disease of love when you turn 18 and you’re free to live your life without being bogged down by emotions.

I’m not sure if everyone is going to like this book as much as I did. I feel like I read it at just the right time. I was looking for something that I would like (almost) as much as The Hunger Games, but you know, with less death. Some people might look at Delirium see only the usual dystopian tale of a girl who realizes that her supposedly wonderful and omniscient government is not nearly as benevolent as she believed. (It’s weird that this description could be used for so many books these days.) But there’s something different about Delirium. I might not be able to immediately put my finger on it, but I do know that I really liked it.

There was something old-fashioned and quaint about this story. Aside from the weird surgery that pretty much turns people into robots and some other details, I could have believed in was Depression-era America, rather than however many odd years into the future. I think it had to do with the lack of air conditioning mentioned in some scenes and the arranged marriage/ courtship vibe going on throughout the book. All in all, I thought it was an awesome and fascinating read.